


Second Chances

by Emettkaysworld (Emakaylee)



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Minor Character Death, Or Is It?, Sorry no Clarke, Unrequited Love, doc mechanic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:19:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21798232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emakaylee/pseuds/Emettkaysworld
Summary: It's that moment when you look across the room and see them, the one person you thought you'd never see again, and as soon as you do, all those wanted-to-be-forgotten feelings come rushing back like a flash flood with no warning. Then your eyes meet, and you're faced with a choice, turn away, or walk towards them?
Relationships: Abby Griffin/Raven Reyes
Comments: 7
Kudos: 66





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first Doc Mechanic fic. The prompt had been sitting around in my notes for a while, then life happened and it inspired this. Let me know what you think, and I might be adding more if I get good feedback.

Raven Reyes was relieved to finally slip away from the conference with all those stuffed suits, grateful for Sinclair promising to cover for her once their presentation was done so she could explore New Orleans for herself. She had already taken off her own tie and stuffed it in her suit pants pocket, and began to undo the top few buttons of her shirt when her taxi pulled up. 

“Where to cher?” The man’s thick accent was in stark contrast to her lack of one as she asked where the best place to get a drink was. “That’d be Bourbon St in the Quarter. And the name is not a coincidence. You not too far from there now, we should be there in ‘bout fifteen minutes.”

Raven nodded, and settled back, placing her hand right above her brace. She listened to the driver hum along to the jazz music wafting through the stereo, beginning to zone out as she stared out the window. Before she knew it, they were pulling up in front of a bar on a street with bright coloured lights brightening the night and a steady stream of people walking about. “You don’t seem like you want too big of a crowd, so this is one of the quieter spots, but with just as good alcohol as the rest of ‘em, and some of the best damn po’ boys this side of the bayou.” Raven thanked him and gave him a generous tip, then made her way inside. 

It was a cozy little bar with muted lighting and jazz music coming from a band on a small stage to the left. There was a decent sized crowd, a mix of mostly 30 to 40 year olds, mostly casually dressed, leaving Raven feeling a little out of place in her suit. She made her way to the bar, waiting for the bartender to finish with a guy on the other end. Ordering a beer and asking for a menu, she perched at the edge of her bar stool, resting her left leg on the bottom rung of the empty stool next to her. After perusing for a few minutes, she ordered the fried shrimp po’ boy and sweet potato fries.

She turned around with the beer in one hand while the other pulled the hair tie from her hair, and let her eyes idly roam over the crowd. Most of them had their attention on the woman in the spotlight playing a lively sax solo. Raven didn’t know much about jazz, preferring alternative, rock, and indie, but she had to admit the woman was talented. Her eyes landed on a trio of women to the left of the stage. There was something familiar about the one with light brunette hair, and when she turned to speak to the black woman beside her, Raven’s heart stopped. “Abby.”

The word was barely a whisper, but as soon as it left her lips, Abby Griffin turned, and their eyes locked across the bar. The look of disbelief probably mirrored her own. She tried to tear her gaze away, but the sudden flood of love, happiness, and longing kept her rooted until grief and guilt dried them up, and she turned abruptly around, accidentally kicking the guy who had just come up next to her. A ‘sorry’ mumbled out as she reached into her pocket for her wallet, dropping a twenty and some singles to cover her bill. She hopped off the stool and rushed out, her head down, letting her hair cover her face.

Making her way outside, she ducked into the alley next to the bar, and leaned against the brick wall, breathing deeply to try and stop the thudding in her chest. Abby. It had been five years since she had seen her last, ending things on a bad note. It had been two years after she and Abby had been there when Jake, Abby’s ex-husband and one of Raven’s mentors/co-workers, had died from cancer. 

They had met twelve years earlier when Raven was recruited by Jake to work on a privately contracted project, being the youngest mechanic to ever join the company. He and Abby had been divorced for over three years by then, but still remained friends and stayed in the same social circle. 

Raven had immediately took to liking Abby, and though there was almost a twenty year difference between them, they formed a strong bond and became close, with some innocent, and not-so-innocent, flirting between them, mostly on Raven’s part. Abby was one of the few people Raven had met who never treated her like an invalid or a child, always an equal. And somewhere along the line, Raven fell in love. But she never said anything about those feelings, fear keeping her from saying anything. 

When Jake was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer six years after they met, it shook Raven more than she cared to admit. She had watched her mother slowly kill herself with drugs as a kid before finally overdosing when Raven was just a young teen. If it hadn’t been for her best friend Finn and his parents, she didn’t know how she would have survived, especially after getting caught in a drive by shooting that left her lower left leg useless. But this was different. Jake was a friend, and dear to Abby, so she stuck by, being strong for the both of them, Abby in particular, during the chemo process, and then threw herself into her work and projects when she was alone. 

Then come October, a month after they found out the chemo wasn’t working, and the cancer had spread all over, Abby had brought Jake to his home so he wouldn’t have to spend his last days in the hospital. By then, Raven had been spending most days with Abby and Jake, and had offered to stay and help. After some convincing, Abby relented. Within a week, Jake had passed in his sleep while Raven had been at his side, and when she went to get Abby, who had been in the shower, her screams had pierced through Raven’s soul. 

Something shifted between Raven and Abby after Jake’s death, and instead of coming together, their grief drifted them apart for almost a year and a half. When Raven’s apartment had burned down due to another one of Wick (an engineer on the project) and her side projects, she found herself looking for a place. Word had somehow reached Abby, and she offered her a room, reminding her that her home was always open to Raven. 

Somewhat relieved, but also nervous, Raven accepted gratefully. She still had feelings for Abby, and hoped that this was the chance to gauge the older woman’s feelings towards her. But it wasn’t meant to be, because some time in the past few months, Abby had begun seeing Marcus Kane, one of the administrators at the hospital Abby worked at. Raven had met him on several occasions before, but something about him always rubbed her the wrong way, one of the things was definitely the authoritarian attitude he always had. 

Things were fine when it was just her and Abby in the house, they slipped into a comfortable domesticity, but when Marcus was there, Raven kept her distance. For Abby’s sake, she tried to be civil around him, but his constant bad timing, superior attitude, and taking Abby away from the house when Raven knew she wanted nothing more than to rest, had her becoming more and more annoyed, and borderline angry with him. And since Raven was never good at expressing her emotions, she slowly began to take it out on Abby as well, starting arguments over little things, eventually distancing herself. When Jacapo Sinclair had sent her an offer to join his NASA team out in DC, Raven accepted without telling Abby, and left a week later, only telling Abby the day before that she was leaving. The look of hurt on Abby’s face haunted her for months, just like her screams from that fateful day in October.

As all those memories washed over Raven, it took her a minute to calm her breathing. She kept her eyes closed, and tried to focus on the music and sounds of the people passing by. “Raven?” That voice, she would know it anywhere, but couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes and look towards the sidewalk where it seemed to be coming from. A second later she felt her presence in front of her, felt a soft hand on her cheek, wiping away a tear she hadn’t realised had slipped out. “Sweetie?”

At that, Raven opened her eyes slowly. She drank in the sight of Abby’s face; it looked almost the same as it had five years ago, with the exception of a few more wrinkles around her brown eyes, barely covered up by the light makeup she wore. Abby’s eyes roamed her face as well for a moment before she pulled Raven off the wall and into her arms. “Oh honey, it’s really you.”

“Abby,” the name came out as a choke before Raven wrapped her arms around the slightly shorter woman and began to sob. They stood there embracing for a few minutes, overlooked by passerbyers, tucked inside the alley. Raven was the first to pull back, but kept her hands on Abby’s waist, tears still streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry. I-I should have been there for you, I shouldn’t have left like I did. I should have called, something. I just, didn’t know how.” All but the last sentence came out in a rush, and she couldn’t look Abby in the eye. 

Taking her hands from off Raven’s shoulders and cupping her face, Abby raised it until Raven looked up, seeing the tears on Abby’s own face. “No, sweetie, I’m sorry. I should have known how much Jake’s death would affect you, too. And instead of losing one best friend, I lost two. God,” she sighed the word, “I’ve missed you so much.” She dropped her hand and pulled Raven in again. 

Raven buried her face in Abby’s hair and whispered, “I missed you, too.” 

At that moment, a low whistle followed by a cat call came from the sidewalk, and they quickly pulled apart. “Come on,” Abby grabbed Raven’s hand, “let’s go back inside and talk.” Raven just nodded, slightly stupefied, and let Abby lead her back inside. She took that moment to look at the rest of Abby. Abby was wearing a deep purple dress that hugged her soft curves nicely and fell just above her knees, a black leather jacket keeping the early spring chill at bay. Three inch black heels made them almost the same height, and her hair was curled in soft waves. She was as beautiful as ever.

They made their way through the light crowd to a just vacated booth in the corner. Sitting opposite of Abby, Raven immediately missed her touch when the older woman let go and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Before Raven had the chance to pull her hands into her lap, Abby covered hers with her own. “So how have you been? Do you live here now?”

Raven shook her head, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth and the touch, “I’m actually here on business, there’s a conference here that Sinclair, my boss, and I were speaking at. Full of stuffed suits and rich men who have more than enough money to throw our way once I convinced them.” Abby laughed at that, and Raven smiled, relishing the sound. “And I’m good, I live in DC now. City life was a bit of an adjustment to Arkadia, but I like it. I’ve made some good friends there too, and even met a few people from back home.” Home. Raven swallowed, not meaning to say that. DC was her home now, not Arkadia.

Abby seemed to sense what Raven was thinking, so she quickly changed the subject. “Are you seeing anyone?” 

Raven missed the wince on Abby’s face, followed by relief as she shook her head again, “There was someone, but it didn’t work out.” She clenched her jaw at the thought of Shaw leaving for the Air Force and Raven telling him she didn’t want to do the whole long distance thing. She couldn’t tell him that she was really afraid of him dying in combat, and she couldn’t handle the loss of another person. And, he wasn’t Abby. “So how’s Kane?” 

The name came out harsher than she meant, and she tried to cover it up with a smile, but it was cut short by Abby’s bitter laugh. “Marcus and I ended a long time ago. Besides,” Abby did a dismissive wave of her hand, “he was never who I wanted. I’m ashamed to admit I finally gave in to his advances simply because he was there, and it seemed easy.”

Raven looked down at their hands, still clasped atop the table, thinking to herself that if she had been there, he would have never been in the picture. Looking up at Abby again, she realised what she had said before could mean. Marcus wasn’t who she wanted. Could it be? Hope swelled in her heart for the first time in years. “Abby, I-” 

Before Raven could say any more, a waiter came over, apologising for taking so long and asked if they’d like anything to drink. Abby ordered a gin and tonic, and Raven asked if they had the ingredients for a Johnny Vegas, and was pleasantly surprised when the waiter not only knew what it was, but asked which flavoured schnapps she wanted in it. She asked for peach, and the waiter nodded, then left.

“A what?”

Raven laughed, that act shaking off some of the nerves from what she was planning on saying before. “It’s a drink my friend Monty introduced me to. Honestly it’s more of a party drink, because of the Red Bull, but it’s my go to when I’m either tired or in a good mood. Tonight is the latter.” As Raven flashed a broad smile that Abby easily matched, the waiter returned with their drinks. Raising her glass, Abby toasted to Raven’s good mood. 

“So, what brings you to New Orleans,” Raven asked casually after they had both taken a drink.

“Girls getaway. My friends and I desperately needed some time off, and they wanted to come to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.”

“Oh! I didn’t mean to take you away from your friends,” Raven tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice as she sat up straighter and looked around the bar for the women she had seen Abby with earlier. 

“No, it’s ok, I promise. I told them I saw someone I needed to reconnect with, and I would catch up with them later. Really Raven, I would rather spend this time with you.” 

The look in Abby’s brown eyes and the gentle caress of her thumb over her hand were more than enough to convince Raven. She settled back into her seat with a soft smile on her face she half hid behind her glass as she took another drink. The tequila was starting to warm her. Maybe it would give her the liquid courage she wanted to say those words she had been dying to all those years ago. “I, I really missed you Abs. You look as beautiful as ever.” Almost. “Dance with me?”

A blush crept up up Abby’s neck as she nodded, and Raven led her to the open space where a small handful of couples were dancing to the slow, rich jazz that the band was playing. They swayed to the music, Raven’s hands on Abby’s waist, Abby’s around her neck. A woman’s soulful voice began to rise above the instruments. Abby took a step forward, closing the space between them, resting her head against Raven’s. “Raven,” her low voice was a breath against Raven’s ear, sending a shudder down Raven’s spine. Raven moved her hands to the small of Abby’s back pulling her even closer and closed her eyes. The familiar smell of magnolias from Abby’s hair made her feel even more drunk than the tequila.

“Can I tell you something?” She felt a nod, “I’ve wanted this for a long time Abs,” she pulled back a little so she could search Abby’s eyes, “please tell me I’m not in this alone?” 

Abby cupped Raven’s cheek, her eyes dark as they flicked down to her lips for a brief moment, “You’re not.” 

Seizing the moment, Raven brought her lips to Abby’s, gentle and slow, and Abby deepened it, pressing herself impossibly closer to Raven. It felt better than Raven imagined. Abby’s lips were soft and warm, she could taste the alcohol on them, and a hint of berry she assumed was from her lip gloss. When Abby’s hand slid up into her hair and grabbed a fistful of it, a moan escaped from the back of her throat. 

“So this is why you ditched us. Can’t say I blame you.” 

Shocked, Raven pulled back and looked at the source of the very familiar voice. “Callie Cartwig," she laughed as Abby's best friend grabbed her from the older woman's arms and hugged her fiercely, "It's good to see you too. I guess you're not mad at me about what happened."

At that, Cece let go abruptly and slugged her in the arm. "That's for leaving and not saying anything. Do it again and you'll have two bad legs instead of one. Be glad Abby talked me out of hunting you down and doing it five years ago. But damn, Reyes, you clean up nice. I never thought I'd see you in something without a grease stain, let alone a suit." 

Raven rubbed her arm, but still managed to smirk back. "What can I say Cartwig, time changes people for the better. Abs," she turned to Abby, who she noticed had blushed furiously, "you didn't tell me it was Cece you came with."

Before Abby could reply, the black woman Raven had seen next to Abby at the beginning of that night came up to the trio. "Sorry, that was Marcus." 

"This is Indra, Marcus' fiancee." Raven's jaw dropped at Cece's last word, which caused Cece to cover her mouth in a failed attempt to stifle a laugh. "Indra, this is Raven, the Raven." Pulling herself out of her stupor, Raven took Indra's outstretched hand. Indra's grip was strong, almost too strong but Raven matched it equally.

"It is nice to finally meet you, I have heard a lot about you from Abby, Callie, and Marcus."

Raven smiled almost sheepishly, "Good things, I hope?"

"Mostly. You are an impressive, ambitious young lady. Much like my twenty year old goddaughter." 

Though Indra's words had seemed to be a compliment, both Raven and Abby winced at her comparing her to a younger person. Clearing her throat, Abby finally spoke up, "We met Indra shortly after you left at one of the charity events for Arkadia's hospitals. She owns a company that works with getting help for veterans."

"She and Marcus butted heads at first, but she won, and actually made him into a decent person." Indra laughed outright at Cece's statement as Abby lightly backhanded her arm. "What, it's true!"

"Anyway," Abby shot a pointed look at Cece, "I thought I told you two to go ahead without me, and I'll catch up?"

"And miss out on who your mystery person was? No way!" 

"I tried to convince her otherwise, but you know Callie."

It was Raven's turn to laugh aloud. "You haven't changed a bit, Cartwig." 

"Not one bit, Reyes," Cece wriggled her eyebrows, "so, you're joining us for Mardi Gras on Tuesday, right? Because unless you have a damn good excuse, I won't take no for an answer."

Abby looked at Raven, a soft pleading in her eyes. "It's ok if you can't, I know you're here for business."

Raven shook her head, "No it's fine, I would love to. Sinclair owes me some time off, anyway, so I'll let him know, though my hotel reservation ends tomorrow afternoon. How long are you staying here?"

"Great! We're here for the week. Abby and I were sharing a room, but I'm sure Indra won't mind sharing with me instead, right, Indra?" Indra looked between the three women, her eyebrow raised, but nodded without missing a beat. "Then it's settled! And my work here is done. You two can go back to making out." Cece grabbed Indra by the arm and dragged her away.

Abby rolled her eyes and let out a soft chuckle, "She really hasn't changed since we were teenagers." Raven had a serious look on her face when Abby looked back at her. “What’s wrong?”

Raven took Abby’s hand and lead them back to their booth, letting her hand go when they sat. She looked down briefly before locking eyes with Abby again. “What are we doing, Abs? I mean, usually this is something I’d ask after sex,” Abby quirked her eyebrow at that, “but I don’t want just a week of fun and catching up, then going back to my life like nothing’s happened. I meant it when I said I’ve missed you, and when I said I’ve wanted this, us, for a long time. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve changed in the past five years, I’m not the same hopeless bisexual who can barely process her feelings. 

I mean, I have to admit it scared the shit out of me when I saw you in here earlier, I didn’t know what to do and I desperately needed air to breathe and think, but then you came, and I realised I needed to stop running. But I have a life back in DC, a dream job I love, I mean, I work for fucking NASA. And I know that we literally just reconnected not even an hour ago, but I don’t want to let you go again.” Raven took a deep breath and started fiddling with her straw. 

“Are you done?” Raven nodded. “I don’t want to let you go either. We made mistakes, Raven, grief does that to the best of us. But I think this is our chance at making things work. There’s another reason why I agreed to take this week off; I’ve been offered a teaching job at The George Washington University. I don’t think you met my former colleague, Eric Jackson, but he put in a good word for me there, and before we came here, I stopped there to have the interview, and I’m thinking about taking it. It’s better hours, and less strenuous work with the same pay back at Arkadia General.”

Raven had stopped messing with her straw, and looked at Abby with eyes full of hope. “So, does that mean?”

“Yes, I’d be moving to D.C.”


End file.
